The Feuds of Zil

Among the phantasmagorical erosion of the Zil escarpment is one of the most remote and primitive societies on the planet of Kassidor with literacy and a semblance of civilization not arriving til the 50th century. Here we find people still living in caves and still hunting dangerous beasts as a way of life. It is one of the few places remaining on the planet with organized conflict between villages, or between any groups of people. The Instinct may prevent violence between people, but it does not prevent people from one village from vandalizing the public works or crops of another. Each attack has been launched in retaliation for the last for so long that no one remembers what actually started it.

When a madman figures out a way to defeat the Instinct and destroy the entire rival village, Dorrick and TongSu become involved when the balloon becomes a key element in saving that village.

It has always been assumed that one’s sexual orientation is fixed and determined by genetics. This is almost completely true for ephemerals who live only twenty decades and who’s genetics are fixed at birth. When sex is no longer reproduction but conjugation, due to the Species Immunity Complex, one’s genetics are no longer fixed. When life is long enough that no one remembers how they got together with their partner or why, the meaning of ‘forever’ is different than the ‘forever’ we pledge at marriage.

When this happens to a lesbian/bisexual couple in the village where they are staying, Dorrick and TongSu become involved when one partner asks for a balloon ride out of the area and the other decides TongSu is the new object of her desire.